Artificial fuel.



UNITED STATES Patented February 28, 1905.

PATENT OEEreE.

ARTIFICIAL FUEL.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 783,810, dated February28, 1905.

Application filed October 10,1904 Serial No. 227,774.

namely, a high-grade economical fuel adapted for use as briquets.

Crude oil or petroleum, both on account of its cheapness and itscombustible value, presents itself as a favorite ingredient ofartificial fuels; but it also offers a disadvantage in that if usedotherwise than sparingly the mixture will not harden and will not standup under combustion. Consequently while it enters into the compositionof many fuels it is generally found in such small percentages that itsmain purpose is that of a binder or a solvent of other ingredients, inwhich cases its true values of economy and heat are not utilized. Insome cases in order to be able to use it more liberally attempts havebeen made by mixing it with resin, stearin, or other fatty acids andsoda, potash, or other alkalies to harden it by more or less partialsaponification; but these attempts are at best of somewhat doubtfuleconomy.

The object of my invention is to secure the economic value of crudepetroleum by using it in appreciably large percentages with certainingredients which permit such use, whereby I am able to produce what maybe termed an oil briquet, in contradistinction to a briquet thecharacter of which depends on the preponderance of some other ingredientsuch, for example, as peat or sawdust or coaldust.

To this end my invention consists, essentially, in a composition ofmatter composed of the union with a suitable relatively low combustiblevehicle of a relatively high combustible mixture in approximately closepro portion, which mixture includes asphaltum and crude petroleum inrelatively approximately close proportions. This will be betterunderstood by the more specific description which I shall now give.

The essential ingredients of my composition of matter are crudepetroleum, aspl'laltum, and a suitable combustible vehicle having alower heat value than either the petroleum or the asphaltum. Varioussubstances will answer for this vehicle. As examples, I may namesawdust, pa1iier-waste, or paper put through a shredding-machine, orpeat. l prefer peat, and the best economic values are had with peat. Thefuel in its better form includes a small percentage of lime, and in itsbest form it includes also a small percentage of coke.

\Vith the specific materials mentioned an example of my composition ofmatter is as follows: asphaltum, twenty-iive per cent; crude petroleum,eighteen per cent; lime, two per cent; coke, live per cent; peat, fiftyper cent. These ingredients are mixed as follows: The asphaltum,petroleum, lime, and coke (the latter having been previously ground to apowder) are all put in a vessel, melted, and stirred thoroughly. Thepeat (which is best previously dried) is then added and stirred in well.The mass is allowed to cool and when cold or while still slightly warmmay be pressed into suitable blocks or briquets. It will now be seenthat the relatively low combustible vehicle-the peatis half the mass,while of the high-combustible mixture the crude petroleum bears to theasphaltum a relatively high percentage. This is made possible by thepresence of the asphaltum, which serves to stiffen the petroleum whileadding to the heat value of the mixture.

Though asphaltum is expensive, its percentage is kept down by the peat,which also adds to the hardness or stiifness of the product. Thus whileboth the peat and the asphaltum serve to render the compoundsufficiently hard for the purpose and enable the use of a relativelylarge quantity of petroleum, giving, as I have before stated, an oilcharacter to the product, each performs its special object, theasphaltum adding to the heat value and as a binder to the peat, whichabsorbs it.

the peat keeping low the amount of asphaltum needed without itself beingin such quantity as to give a peat character to the product. Thus, also,I am able to use a relatively large quantity of petroleum and yet havethe product sufficiently hard for the purpose of briquets. The purposeof the lime is to improve the ash. Peat yields a fusible ash, makingclinkers. The lime prevents this tendency. The ground coke increases theheat value and adds to the hardness of the product.

In giving the proportions of the essential ingredients above mentionedin the example stated I must not be understood as confining myself tothem strictly. The relative percentage of the peat to that of thehigh-combustible mixture may be varied somewhat and even considerably inthe direction of increasing the percentage of the latter with respect tothe former; but the percentage of the highcombustible mixture should notbe dropped much below that given in the example, nor in practice will itbe found advantageous to increase it very much. The relative percentagesof the asphaltum and crude petroleum may likewise be varied withinreasonable limits.

I am aware that artificial fuels have contained crude oil, asphaltum,and peat; but, as far as I know, the peat or other low-grade combustiblehas been in such relatively large quantities as to give its character tothe product, the oil and asphaltum being in very small quantities, onlysufficient to serve as a binder to the peat, in many cases the onlyobject of the'oil being to temper the brittleness of the small amount ofasphaltum to make it serve Such a product is not an oil briquet and hasbut low heat value. I do not, therefore, claim an artificial fuelcontaining these ingredients; but

hat I do claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An artificial fuel composed of arelatively low combustible vehicle,and a mixture of relatively higher combustibles consisting of crudepetroleum and asphaltum,'the petroleum and asphaltum being inapproximately close relative proportions, and the relative proportionsof said vehicle and mixture being approximately close.

2. An artificial fuel composed of peat, and a mixture of crude petroleumandasphaltum,the petroleum and asphaltum being in approximately closerelative proportions, and the relative proportions of the peat and themixture of petroleum and asphaltum being approximately close.

3. An artificial fuel composed of peat, and a mixture of crudepetroleum, asphaltum and lime, the petroleum and asphaltum being inapproximately close relative proportions and high with relation to theproportion of the lime, and the relative proportions of the peat and themixture of petroleum, asphaltum and lime being approximately close.

4:. An artificial fuel composed of peat, and a mixture of crudepetroleum, asphaltum, lime and coke, the petroleum and asphaltum beingin approximately close relative proportions and high with relation tothe proportions of the lime and coke, and the relative proportions ofthe peat and the mixture of petroleum, asphaltum, lime and coke beingapproximately close.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

HENRY R. WOLTMANN.

Ti tnesses WVALTER F. VANE, D. B. RICHARDS.

